Fright Before Christmas
by Cadet-Blu
Summary: When the Sugar Plum Fairy begins having nightmares, the guardians are called up once again. But what lies in the darkness ahead of the guardians might even surprise ol' Pitch himself.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians

_"The children were nestled all snug in their beds,_

_While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads."_

Nicholas St. North, known to all children as Santa Claus, sat in an overstuffed red chair sipping on a steaming cup of hot cocoa. The elves ran around under boot, causing more messes than they managed to clean. The yetis were working hard in the workshops to make sure everything was finished, putting final touches on the toys and checking the lists twice for the naughty ones and the nice. It had been months since he or any of the guardians had heard or seen Pitch, and he took it as a sign to be jolly and relax for his holiday. Unlike Easter, Pitch wasn't around to ruin it.

Jack Frost had become quite the friend to old Nick, and the two often communicated on a regular basis. Toothiana and Bunnymund made sure to keep in touch as well. Sandy had a bit more of a difficult time, with his gestures and all. But he was heard nonetheless. The other patrons of the Christmas holiday had made sure to keep up their ends of the bargain. Jack made sure to keep the children's christmas white, the lookout division of elves were busy peeping in on children to assure their good behavior, and the ground control was quick to make sure everything was a-okay with the reindeer and the designated routes for the "big night".

As Nicholas sat, going over many things in his head, he heard a light rapping at his door. It was so soft it startled him, as he was used to the yetis barging in and the elves jingling loudly, and then the other guardians, well most of the time they just appeared without any sort of warning or sign at all. He put down his cup of cocoa and stood, smoothing out his white beard and pushing up his sleeves as he often did. "Come in." He said, and stared at the door anxiously.

When the door opened, a small, thin frame of a girl stood in the doorway. "Violet?" Two amethyst orbs looked up from the floor: glassy and tired.

Violet was the Sugar Plum Fairy, an accomplice of both Sandy and North. She was the one who sent children their wonder-filled Christmas dreams and aided in keeping the nightmares away in such a precious time to children all around the world. Her wings fluttered, but barely lifted her feet from the ground. Her slippers dragged across the floor until she fell into the chair where North had previously sat. Violet curled up in his chair and yawned. "Sorry I've not been reporting in, North. Something's just not been right lately. I haven't been sleeping."

This certainly shocked the jolly man. The Sugar Plum Fairy not being able to sleep? That hardly seemed right. He took a long drink of his cocoa and looked hard at the girl. She had a two-tone purple striped coat on with a speckled gray collar. It was pulled tight and tickled her ears. "Why?" Was all he could manage to say.

That's when her demeanor began to change. She went from being tired to afraid, and her eyes met with North's once more. "Nightmares."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians

_Nightmares._ The elves seemed to freeze in their spots, plates fell to the floor, cookies crumbled and hot cocoa was spilled. Nicholas, especially, was shocked. Nightmares? For a magical being? Of course, there were times before that he wouldn't have been so surprised. Pitch used to enjoy picking on those lesser than he or the guardians. Most of them weren't as believed in, and he played his sympathy card. A lot of times it worked, but North knew Violet better than to believe she had succumbed to his personal brand of madness.

"Nightmares, Violet? Are you sure?" He cleared his throat and rubbed his forearms. He was rather on edge about the entire subject. North knew that if Pitch could make people stop believing as he once did, he would be basically powerless. How could he protect others if he couldn't even protect himself?

The frail girl gave a slight nod, her pale lilac tresses bouncing about her heart-shaped face. "At first I didn't think much about it. But lately it's been keeping me up, I'm afraid to sleep North." Violet wasn't nearly as old as Nicholas, and she viewed him as a fatherly figure as most other beings and guardians did.

He pulled at his beard in deep thought, wondering how to go about the situation he found himself in. This was the last thing that crossed his mind when he had a visit from The Sugar Plum Fairy. He expected bells and music and sparkles as she always seemed to bring. Not sleep and worry and fear.

"Not good, eh?" He said after a moment, calling for another cup of hot cocoa. An elf hurried in with the cup, sloshing it around on the plate but saving most of the chocolate liquid. He handed it to Violet and crossed his arms.

Violet grasped the warm cup in her hands and breathed in the calming and comforting aromas. She took small sips, her lips resting on the cup. She didn't have much to say, not at the moment. All that was on her mind was the darkness and the dark undertones, all of her music being drowned out and the light stripped from her. It was horrifying, and she couldn't understand why such thoughts were intruding her mind. Violet was always such a happy and free spirited young fairy. She even had a dance of her name.

"You don't think it could be.." Her voice trailed off as she stared into the dark liquid, stirring it with the small silver spoon.

North mustered up a nervous laugh and waved his hand. "Of course not, Vi. Excuse me for a moment. Must be checking up on yetis and toymaking." He excused himself with a nod, slipping out the door and closing it behind him.

Elves scrambled about his boots, hurrying about so to not get caught between and be kicked. He stroked his beard and muttered to himself, going to his globe and taking a long, hard look at it. It was overwhelmed with lights, not a sign of flickering or of anything that would suggest Pitch's presence. He hadn't heard any negative reports from Tooth, or Bunny, not even Sandy or Jack. "So where is this coming from?" He asked himself, studying the globe and then to the window above it. The moon was bright and front and center. He hadn't said a word since Pitch's downfall. Nothing that would signify his uprising, or a revolt or attack on the good beings.

Meanwhile, Violet sat curled up in the chair. She began to nod off, her eyes fluttering shut and opening. She let out a yawn and slowly fell off into a light sleep. At first, everything was perfectly fine. She was in a field of trees in full bloom. Trumpets were playing in the background and she had a basket full of plums that she was picking. Everything was bright and sunny, but it all changed within a matter of seconds. The ground began to fall from under her feet, and when she looked into her basket of plums, all she saw were eyes-large and bloodshot.

She quickly opened her eyes, catching her breath. But before she could fully calm down, a dark ominous shadow was making it's way out of the window. It stopped just in the windowsill and paused. It lingered as a blob for a moment before manifesting itself on the wall. The silhouette was all too familiar-Pitch.

_Hey guys, if you like reading it please review! Reviews give me motivation to write more (-:_


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